Recuérdame
by A. Zap
Summary: The entire team has been gone from Earth for so long, Lance can't help but miss them and think about all that he's missing out on. He sings the special song that he'd sing every time he left and fills it with one of his precious wishes: to be remembered.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron, Coco, or any its characters or songs. That's not gonna stop me from crying about this song though.**

* * *

Recuérdame

It had been a mistake to check the Earth calendar Pidge had set up.

Lance hadn't realized how long they had been out here before he had looked at it. Time was relative and when there is no technical day and night and you're dealing in ticks and vargas rather than seconds and hours, things quickly seem to slide together. Add constant fighting on top of that and it was easy to see how he'd lost track.

But already it'd been long enough.

Lance curled up in the small window he'd found in a deserted hallway of the castle and gazed out into space.

Lance tried not to think about his family too much. Whenever he did, the longing to go home, to see his family, to at least hug his mom threatened to drown him. It brought tears to his eyes and the team didn't need him to get so wishy-washy when they were in the middle of a war.

So generally, he tried to hold off thinking about his family for as long as possible until inevitably the homesickness struck in the middle of the night when he was alone.

But looking at the date had brought it all back.

It made him realizing just how much he was missing what was going on with his family.

The week before all of this started, during his biweekly video chat with his family, his sister and her wife had announced that she was pregnant. They'd all congratulated her and she'd admitted that she had wanted to wait until she was near the end of the first trimester before making an announcement.

With how long they'd been in space, Lance probably had another niece or nephew if things had gone well.

He'd probably never get to meet them.

They'd never get to know him.

Heck, he didn't even know if his nieces, nephews, or younger cousins would even remember him. They were all pretty young and depending on how long he and the others were out here, they could be grown up by the time they got back.

Lance wanted to be remembered.

In a large family such as him, it could be a struggle to be remembered. Once when he was younger, he'd ended up in a _Home Alone_ type situation when he woke up from a nap to discover everyone had left already to get to his brother's ball game. Luckily, his mom had caught on a lot sooner than the one in the movies and raced back home to get him.

During school, nothing about Lance had really made him stick out. He'd gotten along with pretty much everyone and sure, he hadn't really been best friends with anyone, but he'd been friends with quite a few people. And yet, the first time he'd come home from the Garrison during break and run into some former classmates, none of them had really remembered who he was.

Maybe that's why, when he had met up with Keith again, it had stung so bad that he hadn't remembered him at all.

Still, his younger family members were the real worry here. He was sure that his siblings would remember him as well as his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and mom. His little nieces and nephews though? His little cousins? Memories didn't take as well at their age.

They hadn't even wanted him to leave. The first time he'd left for the Galaxy Garrison, and then each time on break, when it came time for him to leave they'd cling to his legs, begging him not to go. He always told them not to worry, laughing it off, and assured them that he'd be back.

And then they'd insist that he –

They would insist that he'd sing his song for them.

It was a song from one of his favorite Pixar films, and it encompassed his greatest desire.

Lance curled up just a bit more, and began to sing softly in his native tongue, a language that he only ever spoke here when he was alone. After all, no one else could understand it, so why bother using it in front of them?

 _Recuérdame, hoy me tengo que ir, mi amor_

Going to space had always been his dream, so he had to leave his family. Though Lance would admit that he hadn't thought he'd be leaving to go so far away so soon.

 _Recuérdame, no llores, por favor_

Lance always tried to clear up any tears when he left, but he couldn't exactly do that now. He didn't know what the Garrison had told his family, but he wouldn't be back to wipe away the tears for a while yet. He rubbed his own eyes as they began to burn a bit.

 _Te llevo en mi corazón y cerca me tendrás_

 _A solas yo te cantaré soñando en regresar_

Going to space had been his dream, but now he only dreamed of going home. It was one of the thoughts that kept him going forward. It was the wish he kept close to his heart whenever things were at their worst.

 _Recuérdame, aunque tenga que emigrar_

However, Lance couldn't go back. Not yet. The universe, and more importantly his friends, needed him out here. He had to help however he could, even if it felt like he wasn't doing much sometimes.

 _Recuérdame, si mi guitarra oyes llorar_

Lance's fingers ached for his guitar. It had been left behind at the Garrison, and he could only hope it had been returned to his family. He had spent countless hours playing on it with them and singing songs of all kinds.

 _Ella con su triste canto te acompañará,_

 _Hasta que en mis brazos tú estés_

The moment they returned to Earth, Lance was going to go home. He would give his first hug to his mom but then he'd gather up all his niblings and cousins and hold them until an unavoidable tickle war broke out. But until that time…

 _Recuérdame..._

As the last note faded away, Lance searched the stars outside the window. Earth was so far away that he couldn't even fathom the distance. It probably didn't even show as one of the distant stars.

Lance gently put his hand against the glass anyway. He closed his eyes and pictured that blue planet that he'd grown up on. "Recuérdame, por favor." He whispered, a wish and a prayer.

It was Keith who ended up finding him hours later, still resting against the window after falling asleep.

* * *

Millions of lightyears away, a small boy cradled an infant in his arms. He chatted excitedly to her in rapid Spanish, going so fast that he occasionally tripped over his words.

"... And he's really the coolest ever! Just wait! I'm sure when you get to meet him, he's gonna be so happy! He'll probably help you fly!" He adjusted the baby slightly so she could better see the photo on the table before them.

"¿Mijo?" He started a bit as his mother entered the room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm telling her about Tío Lance!" He shouted, grinning up at her and then back at the baby. "She needs to know all about him!"

"I see." His mom gave a small, sad smile and reached out to take the baby from him. "Abuela needs your help in the kitchen."

"Mamá!" He whined, but he hurried off as his mother shooed him out of the room.

After he was gone, she adjusted the baby in her arms and turned her smile back to the photo. "No worries, Lance." She said, carefully touching the photo of her smiling youngest brother. "We won't forget you."

The baby gurgled and she lifted her up to face her, her smile losing its sadness. "Isn't that right, Lana?"

Her brother may be lost, may be gone, considering what the Garrison was saying, but she knew better. He'd be back one way or another. And when he did, they'd have more memories and stories to remember together.

She was sure of it.

* * *

 _AN: So way back when I saw Coco in theaters, I really pictured Lance singing this song and even made a post about how he'd sing this song to his nieces and nephews whenever he left for the Garrison. Someone commented that the actual Spanish version of the song was even better than the English (because I mentioned I didn't know which version he'd sing because I liked both ideas and had only heard the English version at that point), so when I first started writing this, like, back in December, I decided to base it on the Spanish edition. Now it's been sitting as a WIP for months and I finally finished it as a bit of a bittersweet story for Julance. Despite Lance's worries, his family isn't about to forget him.  
_

 _Also, I know we've gotten three names for Lance's siblings, but Jeremy once mentioned that he has like 4 or 5 siblings, and I don't know if I want this to be Veronica or another sib and one of his niblings, which is why I didn't give anyone names except for the baby. Lana was named in honor of Lance._


End file.
